MIAMI (AP) – In a vacant lot between gleaming hotels in downtown Miami, are a series of holes carved into the bedrock that form eight circles.
At first glance, the site seems like an eyesore, but it’s here where archaeologists say they have uncovered a major prehistoric Native American village, one of the largest and earliest examples of urban planning ever uncovered in North America.
It’s also where a movie theatre, condos and 34-story hotel are expected to be built.
The discovery has pitted developers against archaeologists and historic preservationists. The dispute comes as an increasing number of Native American sites are being uncovered around the country with advances in technology and a greater understanding of the subtle markers left behind to look for.
The discoveries pose difficult questions for cities such as Miami that must decide whether it is best to preserve the remains of an ancient society or, often times, destroy it in hopes of revitalising a new one.
“Let’s be honest with each other,” said Eugene Stearns, the attorney representing MDM Development Group, which owns the property and is eager to move forward with construction. “Every great city is built on the shards of a former great city.”
At its height, archaeologist Bob Carr estimated as many as 2 000 people lived in the Tequesta village, starting around 500 B.C. It likely extended a quarter mile along the Miami River and then wrapped around Biscayne Bay.
Much of the village consisted of thatched, hut-like buildings the Tequestas, one of South Florida’s earliest tribes, built by digging holes with clam shells into the soft limestone, and then inserting pine logs to hold floors, walls and roofs.
Because of the materials used – straw and wood – the only remnants of the buildings are the postholes, today still forming 18-to 40-foot circles in the blackened bedrock.
MDM has proposed carving out a section of the limestone containing the circle formations and placing it on display in a public plaza.
Preservations, however, say removing a piece of architecture isn’t like moving a painting from one museum to another.
MDM has spent $3 million conducting an archaeological review and is now anxious to continue construction. Stearn said all of the planned commercial space has been leased and half of the residential units have been sold.
Miami isn’t the only city grappling with how best to preserve an ancient site while allowing development to advance. Nationwide, Native American sites are being discovered at a quickening pace.
